An electronic device includes a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) rectifier. The MEMS rectifier includes a mainboard and a sub-board. The mainboard has one or more radiofrequency (RF) inputs configured to receive an RF signal, and a first electrical contact. The sub-board is positioned parallel to the mainboard with a gap in-between, and has a thin film piezoelectric layer, a second electrical contact positioned opposite the first electrical contact, and a ground plane. The sub-board is configured to vibrate as the RF signal is received at the one or more RF inputs, and the thin film piezoelectric layer is configured to generate energy due to the vibration and piezoelectric properties of the thin film piezoelectric layer.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. An electronic device comprising a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device, the MEMS device including: a board including: a thin film piezoelectric layer; an electrical contact; and a ground plane; wherein the board is configured to vibrate in response to a radiofrequency (RF) signal; wherein the board is configured to generate energy for the electronic device due to the vibration and piezoelectric properties of the thin film piezoelectric layer; and wherein the electrical contact is configured to allow for flow of electric charge of the generated energy to other one or more other portions of the electronic device.
2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the electrical contact is a raised portion of the board.
3. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the RF signal is within a particular frequency band and wherein the board is configured to vibrate at a resonant frequency within the particular frequency band.
4. The electronic device of claim 3, wherein one or more dimensions of the board are selected based on the particular frequency band.
5. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising an energy storage device that is configured to receive and store the generated energy.
6. The electronic device of claim 5, wherein the energy storage device includes one or more capacitors configured to receive and store charge corresponding to the generated energy.
7. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising a monolithic chip, wherein the MEMS rectifier device is included in the monolithic chip.
8. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the generated energy is mechanical energy.
9. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the generated energy is configured to be stored in the mechanical domain.
10. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the generated energy in the form of vibration of the board.
11. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising one or more RF inputs operatively connected to the board and configured to receive the RF signal.
12. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the vibration of the board increases in amplitude over time when the RF signal is received by the one or more RF inputs.
13. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the RF signal includes at least one of i) a cellular band, ii) an industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band, iii) a 3.5 GHz band or iv) a 6 GHz band.
14. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the thin film piezoelectric layer includes crystalline aluminum nitride (AlN).
15. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising a transformer operatively connected to the board and configured to prepare the generated current to meet requirements for powering the electronic device.
16. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein a lateral size of the MEMS device is in the range of 5 μm-50 μm.
17. A tracking system, the tracking system comprising: one or more identifier tags configured to emit a signal to indicate a location, wherein the one or more identifier tags are operatively connected to the electronic device of claim 1; and one or more readers configured to detect a signal emitted by the one or more identifier tags, the one or more readers including: one or more processors, and a memory operatively coupled to the one or more processors.
18. The tracking system of claim 17, further comprising one or more client computing devices configured to display location data.
19. The tracking system of claim 17, further comprising a server computing device, the server computing device including one or more processors and a memory.
20. The tracking system of claim 17, wherein the electronic device of claim 1 is a plurality of electronic devices of claim 1 included in a multi-chip module.
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November 20, 2023
June 10, 2025
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